


Fair-weather Friends, Foul-weather Bedmates

by Kiraly



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Huddling For Warmth, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 17:36:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11925861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: Of all the things Sigrun Larsen misses from the pre-Rash world, electric blankets are at the top of the list. Since it's too cold to sleep alone, she does something about it.





	Fair-weather Friends, Foul-weather Bedmates

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this week's [Synchronised Screaming](https://synchronisedscreaming.tumblr.com/) flash fiction challenge on Tumblr. One of the prompts for SSSS was "Any - Cuddling For Warmth" which is so utterly my jam that I had to write it for _someone_. IdleLeaves prompted Aksel/Sigrun, so I went with it.

Of all the things Sigrun Larsen missed from the pre-Rash world, electric blankets were at the top of the list.

“It’s going to be another cold one tonight!” Ingrid said, sounding entirely too happy about it. “Will you be warm enough at your place? Just say the word and I can lend you Gøran.”

Sigrun rolled her eyes and hunched further into her coat. “Thanks, but as I’ve said before, you can keep your hairy boyfriend all for yourself. I’ll be fine.” It was an old joke between them, but on nights like this, Sigrun was almost tempted to take her up on it. Gøran might be a little too fond of his beard, but he radiated heat like a furnace.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Ingrid said. There was a grain of real concern under the teasing—she worried about Sigrun living alone sometimes. But these days, there were plenty of other things to worry about. Like guarding the perimeter of Dalsnes, which Sigrun was late for.

“Shit, I gotta go. Think fondly of my freezing ass while you’re snuggling with your man.” She and Ingrid parted ways, and Sigrun tried not to shiver.

At least she wasn’t the only one who was feeling the cold. For once, Aksel had gotten to their post before her, and he looked miserable. He brightened a little when Sigrun arrived, though.

“H-hey Sigrun! Nice weather we’re having, right?” A gust of wind whipped his hair into his face, and he had to turn away to spit out the strands and push them back behind his ears. When he turned around, Sigrun gave him her best exasperated look.

“That’s a great way to get attacked by a troll, you know. I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to face  _ outside  _ the wall.” 

Aksel snorted. “Right, sure. Because the trolls will be falling all over themselves to come out in weather like this.” He stuck his hands under his armpits to warm them. “What?”

Sigrun was staring at him. “Nothing. Just...was that actually  _ sarcasm?”  _ Most of the time he practically rolled over like a puppy when she criticized him.

He offered her a sheepish grin. “Well, I  _ have  _ been spending a lot of time with you. I guess some of the sarcasm rubbed off.” He laughed, and after a moment, Sigrun did too.

Neither of them were laughing by the time their shift ended. Hours of standing in the cold wore away at even the most determined sense of humor, and the wind seemed to find its way in no matter how many layers they wore. The snow had started up again, too.

It took twice as long as usual for them to get to Sigrun’s apartment, between the snow and the driving wind. Sigrun collapsed gratefully against her door, and Aksel attempted to straighten his shoulders.

“Right,” he said, shaking some snow from his hood, “I should keep going to my place—”

Sigrun just rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, too tired to make a proper argument. “Idiot. Get in here.” It was too cold to stay outside any longer than necessary, and the thought of facing her empty apartment was suddenly too much. The thought of walking the rest of the way to his own house must have been too much for Aksel, because he didn’t even protest as Sigrun dragged him inside and shut the door.

The fire had died down while she was gone—that was another thing Sigrun missed, central heat that actually worked—so the room wasn’t much warmer than the outside. But it was a relief to be out of the wind, to shed her snow-covered coat and boots and start to thaw. As she stirred the fire back to life, Sigrun glanced over and saw that Aksel was still standing by the door, fully dressed and dripping snowmelt onto the floor.

“Aksel.” His head snapped up. “Get out of that wet stuff and get over here.”

He did as she asked, but there was still confusion written clearly across his face. “Um. Sigrun. What are we...doing?”

Sigrun turned to face him from where she’d been arranging quilts on her makeshift bed—it had been too cold to stay in the bedroom, so gradually her life had migrated to fill the living room. “We’re getting warm, obviously.” She folded her arms and tried to say the next words like they didn’t matter. “Unless you don’t want to.”

Aksel’s confusion melted away like the snow in his hair. “Okay.” He walked over to where Sigrun stood and held his arms out. “Of course I want to.” He was warm even through the wool of his sweater, and the gentle weight of his embrace felt like stepping into shelter from the wind. Sigrun wouldn’t have minded staying there forever, if her bed wasn’t so inviting.

“C’mon,” she said, face still pressed against Aksel’s chest, “Pants off, then bed.”

“P-pants?” There was no blaming that stutter on the cold; Aksel’s face was flaming red when she looked up at him. “Um…”

The blushing was adorable, but Sigrun was tired. “Yes, pants. It’s been a long day, and I’ve been wearing pants for all of it. Enough is enough.” It was a relief to peel them off and kick them into the corner, even if it did raise goosebumps on her skin. When she looked back at Aksel, he had his eyes covered.

“Oh,  _ honestly.”  _ It wasn’t like her sweater didn’t cover everything important. “I’m not letting you in my bed with yours on, either, they’re wet. Strip.”

Aksel opened his mouth to say something—probably a request for her to look away—but thought better of it. He turned his back anyway, which didn’t stop Sigrun from getting a good look.

“Wow, you’re actually blushing  _ everywhere”.  _

“Shut  _ up,  _ Sigrun!”

“You’re just too easy to tease.” She caught his sleeve and steered him to the bed. “I  _ should  _ make you take some of those sweaters off, too. Shared body heat works best with skin contact.”

“Sigrun—”

“Relax.” She maneuvered him onto the bed and under the blankets, tossing him a spare pillow. When he was more or less settled, she curled up against his chest. “Teasing aside, I just want to sleep. And I thought it’d be warmer together.” She bunched the fabric of his sweater in one hand and pulled herself up so she could tuck her head under his chin. “It’s nice like this, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Aksel sighed against her hair. “Thanks for having me. Wouldn’t have wanted to walk all the way back home.”

“Any time,” Sigrun said. And she found, as the warmth soaked into her muscles and sent her towards sleep, that she actually meant it. 


End file.
